expense
expense — noun
1. the financial cost, hours of work, or personal energy that someone devotes to ac
the financial cost, hours of work, or personal energy that someone devotes to achieving something
Yael decorated her new apartment at great expense, buying furniture for every room.
collocation: at great expense
The local theatre spared no expense on the opening night, hiring a famous orchestra.
idiom: spare no expense
Pim sent his daughter to an international school, but he felt the expense was worthwhile.
Layla completed the project at little expense by borrowing tools from her neighbours.
collocation: at little expense
Jisoo travelled across Europe at the expense of the university research fund.
pattern: at the expense of [fund]
- at great expense
- at little expense
- at no expense
- spare no expense
- worth the expense
- to somebody's expense
- cost
Broader — cost can be price, effort, or consequence without the active-spending nuance of expense
- outlay
More formal and specific to money spent at the start of a project or investment
- expenditure
More formal than expense; often used in official budgets and reports
Grammar Patterns
at + (great/little/no) + expense
spare no expense
Usage Note
Always uncountable in this sense — no article before it. Frequently used in fixed phrases like 'at great/little/no expense' and 'spare no expense.'
Common Mistakes
2. a particular thing, service, or activity that you need to pay for, especially on
a particular thing, service, or activity that you need to pay for, especially one that takes up a regular or large part of your budget
Car insurance is a necessary expense for every driver in Japan.
pattern: a necessary expense
Ignacio's biggest monthly expense after rent is his daughter's music lessons.
The wedding reception turned into a huge expense that drained their savings.
collocation: a huge expense
Jason's veterinary bills became an unexpected expense when his dog injured its leg.
collocation: unexpected expense
For Yasmin, buying organic vegetables is an expense she never questions.
- an expense
- a major expense
- a huge expense
- a necessary expense
- an unexpected expense
- monthly expense
- a shared expense
- cost
Can be used for a specific item's price, but 'cost' is often the price itself; 'expense' implies the burden of paying
- outgoing
Usually plural 'outgoings'; more common in British English for regular payments like bills
- overhead
Specifically ongoing business costs like rent and utilities; narrower in meaning
- income
Money received rather than spent
Grammar Patterns
a/an + expense
a major/big/huge expense
Usage Note
Countable — takes an article or determiner ('an expense', 'every expense', 'a big expense'). Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 names the specific item paid for, while sense 1 refers to the general act of spending resources.
Common Mistakes
3. money that an employee pays for work-related items — such as travel, meals, or o
money that an employee pays for work-related items — such as travel, meals, or office supplies — and later gets back from the employer, or that can be deducted from tax
Élise submitted her travel expenses after the three-day conference in Singapore.
collocation: submit expenses
The sales team's entertainment expenses include client dinners and golf outings.
Tara kept every receipt so she could claim her business expenses at the end of the month.
collocation: claim expenses
Eliska's expense report for last quarter included plane tickets, hotel bills, and taxi fares.
The company covers all reasonable expenses for staff who attend overseas training courses.
collocation: cover expenses
- travel expenses
- business expenses
- claim expenses
- submit expenses
- cover expenses
- expense report
- expense account
- reasonable expenses
- incidental expenses
- running expenses
- reimbursement
The money received back, not the spending itself; more formal
- outgoings
Broader — includes all regular payments, not just work-related ones
- costs
Less specific; 'costs' can include non-reimbursable expenses
Grammar Patterns
expenses (plural)
claim expenses
submit expenses
cover expenses
Usage Note
Almost always plural ('expenses') in this sense. When 'expense' appears in the singular in a work context, it usually belongs to sense 1 or 2. Commonly paired with 'claim,' 'submit,' 'report,' or 'cover.'
Common Mistakes
4. a situation where one person or thing suffers harm, loss, or disadvantage so tha
a situation where one person or thing suffers harm, loss, or disadvantage so that someone else can gain an advantage — used only in the phrase 'at the expense of' or 'at somebody's expense'
The manager built her reputation at the expense of her junior staff.
idiom: at the expense of
The city built a new stadium at the expense of the local public library.
Joon made everyone laugh with jokes at his own expense.
idiom: at somebody's own expense
The company cut costs at the expense of worker safety, causing several accidents.
- at the expense of
- at somebody's expense
- at one's own expense
- sacrifice
A neutral giving up of something valuable; 'expense' in this sense implies the sacrifice is someone else's loss for another's gain
- detriment
Formal synonym for harm or damage; 'to the detriment of' is a close equivalent to 'at the expense of'
- cost
In 'at the cost of,' this functions similarly but is less formal and more general
- benefit
An advantage or gain, the opposite of loss or detriment
Grammar Patterns
at the expense of + noun/gerund
at somebody's expense
Usage Note
Only appears in the fixed phrase 'at the expense of' or 'at somebody's expense.' Cannot stand alone as a noun. In 'at somebody's expense,' 'somebody' can refer to the person being joked about or the person paying.
Common Mistakes
to spend as much money as is needed to make something as good as possible, without trying to save money
The couple spared no expense on their wedding, booking the finest venue in Kyoto.
No expense was spared in designing the new museum building.
expense account
idioman arrangement with an employer by which money spent on work-related items is recorded and later paid back by the company
The sales director put the client dinner on her expense account.
Ryo used his expense account to pay for the taxi to the airport.
with all costs for travel, accommodation, meals, and other items covered by someone else, usually an employer or organizer
Yasmin won an all-expenses-paid trip to Bali through the company raffle.
The university offered the visiting professor a two-week stay, expenses paid.
incidental expenses
idiomsmall additional costs that come up during a trip or project, such as tips, laundry, or local transport
The per-diem allowance covers meals and incidental expenses like taxi fares.
Keep the receipts for any incidental expenses you incur at the conference.
running expenses
idiomthe regular, ongoing costs required to keep a business, organization, or vehicle operating
The running expenses of the food truck include fuel, permits, and ingredient supplies.
Electricity and water are the main running expenses of the factory.
Paid for by a particular person or group.
The company sent Sara to the conference at the company's expense.
Did you really take a vacation at your parents' expense?
Causing harm or loss to someone or something while achieving something else.
He finished the project on time at the expense of his sleep.
The company cut costs at the expense of employee benefits.
To spend money on something, especially when it is a lot of effort or cost.
They went to the expense of installing solar panels on their roof.
Why would you go to all that expense for a one-day event?
put somebody to the expense of something/of doing something | put somebody to a lot of, etc. expense
idiomTo cause someone to spend money on something.
The unexpected repairs put us to a lot of expense.
Don't put your parents to the expense of buying you a new car.
expense — verb
1. to record a purchase or cost as a work-related expense so that your employer or
to record a purchase or cost as a work-related expense so that your employer or client pays for it instead of you
The consultant expensed the flight and hotel directly to the client's account.
pattern: expense + direct object + to [account]
Make sure you expense the printer cartridges before the end of the quarter.
The sales representative expensed the cost of the client dinner on his company card.
Yael expensed her taxi fare from the airport to the hotel for the conference.
- expense a cost
- expense a flight
- expense a meal
- expense to an account
Grammar Patterns
expense + noun
expense + noun + to + noun
Usage Note
Common in business contexts. The object is the item or cost being claimed. Unlike 'claim expenses,' this verb focuses on the act of recording or billing the cost, not just requesting reimbursement.
Common Mistakes
2. to treat a cost as a business expense for tax purposes, so that the amount spent
to treat a cost as a business expense for tax purposes, so that the amount spent is subtracted from taxable income
The small business owner expensed the new laptop as office equipment.
pattern: expense + noun + as [category]
Freelancers can expense a portion of their home electricity bills if they work from home.
The accountant advised the studio to expense the camera purchase this financial year.
The photographer expensed the new lenses as professional tools on her tax return.
collocation: expense on tax return
The consultant expensed the software subscription as a professional development cost.
- expense as [category]
- expense in the current year
- fully expense
- expense a purchase
Grammar Patterns
expense + noun
expense + noun + as + noun
Usage Note
Used in accounting and tax preparation. The cost being expensed reduces taxable profit. Distinguish from verb sense 1: sense 1 is about billing an employer; sense 2 is about deducting costs from tax.
Common Mistakes
3. to bill a person or organization for the costs they have caused or the services
to bill a person or organization for the costs they have caused or the services they have received
The law firm expensed the clients for court filing fees and document delivery charges.
pattern: expense + somebody + for [costs]
The event organizer expensed each participant for the cost of printed materials.
The shipping company expensed the retailer for customs clearance and storage fees.
The hospital administration expensed the patient for private nursing services.
- expense somebody for [cost]
- expense a client
Grammar Patterns
expense + somebody
Usage Note
Very rare in modern English. 'Bill' or 'charge' is almost always preferred. This sense is occasionally found in legal and formal administrative writing.
Word family
- expensiveadjectiveA2
- expensivelyadverbB2
- inexpensiveadjectiveB2
- expenditurenounB2
- expendverbC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
These four words all relate to using money, but they differ in scope and formality. 'Cost' is the broadest term — it can mean the price paid for something ('the cost of a train ticket') or the effort/consequence involved ('the cost of war'). 'Expense' focuses on the act of spending resources, often from the spender's perspective, and appears in fixed phrases like 'spare no expense.' 'Expenditure' is formal and typically appears in official or financial contexts ('government expenditure on education'). 'Outlay' refers specifically to an initial sum spent at the start of a project ('a large outlay for new machinery'), whereas 'spending' is a direct, neutral term used in everyday and policy contexts ('household spending rose last month'). For a learner, 'cost' is the safest everyday choice, while 'expense' adds the nuance of burden or effort, and 'expenditure' is best reserved for formal writing.
Common collocations
Nouns
- expense account
- expense report
- expense claim
- expense reimbursement
Adverbs
- heavily
- greatly
- personally
- jointly
Phrases
- at the expense of
- at great expense
- at little expense
- no expense spared
- at somebody's expense
Prepositions
- of
- for
- on
Etymology
The word 'expense' entered English in the 14th century from Anglo-French, derived from the Latin 'expensa' (money spent), which came from 'expendere' (to weigh out, pay out). The original Latin combined 'ex-' (out) and 'pendere' (to weigh, to pay). The noun first referred to money paid out, and later extended to effort, time, and the idiomatic sense of sacrifice. The verb use is a modern development from business and accounting contexts.